Action shouldn’t be this complicated, but I spent a majority of the running time for The Courier trying to piece together what was happening and why any of the action was relevant to the storyline. Despite a seemingly straightforward premise, The Courier is ripe with flashbacks and secret identities, not to mention far too many characters and names to keep track of. If only the approach had been simplified, there may have been a great action film in here somewhere. Instead, The Courier is a convoluted thriller with a few scenes of action.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars as an underworld courier who finishes the jobs without asking questions. When he is giving a job to deliver a briefcase to a man that is seemingly impossible to find, the reward is as high as the risk. If he succeeds, there is a million dollar payday waiting, but failure will mean the death of his family. The difficulty finding the man in question lies in his underworld connections and the elusive qualities of his personality and reputation. The deeper into the underworld our courier gets in tracking down his target, the less the storyline feels familiar or comprehensible.

The bonus features on the Blu-ray release of The Courier includes a behind-the-scenes featurette as well as extended/deleted scenes from the film. The high definition presentation of the movie is hardly impressive, if only because of how forgettable the film is. This is an interesting failure, but not nearly interesting enough for me to recommend to anyone I respect.

The sanity of the father figure has come into question a great deal recently in horror, which leads me to question the reasoning. Father figures in horror movies have taken a hit, though their insecurities about an inability to protect their family from menacing outside forces is usually overcome with a climax that has them stand up and fight against these villains. This alludes to a mass social insecurity on the part of the male figures in America, and their fear of an inability to care for their family. Horror is therapeutic, allowing us to face and overcome our fears within the confines of a predetermined dramatic structure. The fathers must seem inept, if only to overcome this obstacle and prove themselves a worthy protector and provider for their family.

The Barrens is about a father who is desperate to protect his family from a creature deep in the woods of southern New Jersey. Richard Vineyard (Stephen Moyer of TVs “True Blood”) is vacationing with his family while also spreading the ashes of his father, but the camping trip turns into a nightmare when Richard becomes convinced that the mythical creature known as the Jersey Devil exists and is hunting them from with the wilderness.

From this point in the story on there are some cliché devices which can weigh down the plot, including the tiresome point in which nobody believes what Richard says he has seen in the woods. The only saving grace for this film is the fact that the question of Richard’s sanity is not answered for the audience either, allowing us to wait to find out whether the creature is real or simply a figment of a delusional man’s imagination.

The Blu-ray includes an audio commentary from writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman, perhaps best known for his contributions to the Saw franchise, along with his director of photography, Joseph White. There is also a deleted scene.

Adam Sandler has made a career out of acting like a buffoon, creating characters that talk in silly childlike voices. There have been moments of glory within these roles, such as his earlier successes with Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, but lately they have just been desperate and awful. Though That’s My Boy is not nearly as bad as Jack and Jill, it is also infinitely worse than the more adult roles that Sandler has done recently. Even Sandler’s voice acting in Hotel Transylvania is more mature than That’s My Boy. There has to be middle ground, and that would be in films like Grown Ups and Just Go With It. Nobody can question the range of comedy Sandler has done, but everyone in their right mind should question the quality of this particular film.

That’s My Boy begins with an extended introduction that shows us the unique situation that led to the upbringing of our actual protagonist, by first showing us the teenage years of his father. Donny (Sandler) fathers a son when he is still in high school after having an affair with one of his teachers. This makes him a dad, but more importantly to him, it also makes him something of a minor celebrity. Years later his son, Han Solo (Andy Samberg) is going by the name Todd and has told his fiancé and her family that his parents are dead.

The predictable scenario of the father arriving at the wedding unannounced becomes even more cliché when Todd lies and tells everyone that Donny is just a friend instead of his father. This lie is hidden among many other among the wedding party, which is strange enough without the addition of the often vulgar Donny. He has a beer in his hand at all times and has a propensity for inappropriate stories, but everybody seems to like him more than his uptight son trying to keep his family a secret.

The Blu-ray release of That’s My Boy includes the exclusive extras, from a featurette about the celebrity cameos within the film to a humorous featurette about the strip club Donnie frequents. There are also deleted scenes and a gag reel.

I would rather watch an interesting failure than a predictable film which is decently made. Prometheus swings for the fences, and yet it fails to come together as a complete film. What we have here are aspects of spectacular filmmaking that are muddled together within a shaky script and a director who has seemingly lost some of the fire from the filmmaking of his youth. At the very least, I can honestly say that I enjoyed Prometheus far more than Ridley Scott’s last film, Robin Hood. Compared to Robin Hood, Prometheus is a near masterpiece while still remaining light-years away from the quality of a film like Alien.

Though Ridley Scott refused to refer to this film as an Alien prequel, there are clear lines in similarity. There is a great deal more happening within this screenplay, but there are many of the franchise’s familiar elements, from body invading alien life forms to cybernetic human beings aboard a spaceship. That being said, the aliens come in a different form than we are accustomed to, mostly because this is a film about the origins of the alien life as well as humanity. There is a certain level of absurdity within this storyline, but at the very least it is original.

There seem to be several different films in this one movie, and aspects of each are compelling. Discussions of the origins of life dominate the dialogue along with discussions of souls and what it means to be human. Occasionally this is weighs down what would otherwise be a rather straightforward alien monster movie, though the different types of action and horror make each sequence different from the last. These scenes are mostly paired with astounding visual effects and some great suspense, though they are also plagued with nonsensical logic and very little consistency. Overall I would say that Prometheus is not a great film, while individual sequences are worth admiring.

The Blu-ray release includes a DVD and digital copy of the film, along with a second screen application for the Blu-ray disc. The special features include a number of deleted scenes, which include a number of deleted scenes and an alternate opening and close of the film. The highlight, however, are the two commentary tracks, especially the one with director Ridley Scott. The second commentary is with the film’s writers.

People Like Us is a family drama, though one which is far from traditional considering the secrecy of the family ties. Inspired by true events, this tale has been warped to fit into the melodrama and predictable character arcs of studio films. There are some truly engaging moments thanks to the talented cast and a capable director, though there are more than a few cliché moments with the story. It is as though real life has been filtered through the movie world, where everything is safely predictable with a happy outcome.

Chris Pine stars as a Sam, a fast-talking salesman with a past that he would rather forget and a predictably supportive girlfriend (Olivia Wilde) by his side encouraging him to deal with the very issues he would rather suppress. When Sam gets the news that his father has dies, he is forced to deal with everything he thought he had left behind, including a resentful mother (Michelle Pfeiffer). What Sam also discovers after his father’s death is a secret second life, one which left him with a half sister (Elizabeth Banks) he never knew about.

Where the story gets a little tiresome is in the choice that Sam makes to keep his relation a secret from his newfound sister, allowing for a misunderstanding about sexual intentions to occur. Even more tiresome is the predictable reaction of anger at a secret being withheld, which is only slightly less predictable than the inevitable moment of forgiveness. There are some great performances here, but the movie itself is easily forgettable melodrama.

The Blu-ray combo pack also includes a DVD of the film. The DVD has an audio commentary with director Alex Kurtzman and actors Pine and Banks. There is also select scene commentary with the director and Pfeiffer. These are included on the Blu-ray as well, on top of a number of exclusive features. There is a featurette about the real story that inspired the film, along with a featurette about a taco stand used in one of the scenes, deleted scenes and bloopers, and an additional commentary track with the director and writer Jody Lambert.

General Education attempts slick comedic entertainment, though there is nothing particularly comical about the scenario of the film, and the actors all play the story so straight that the laughs are more than occasionally forgotten. While originally I had figured this film to be a rip-off of Billy Madison, about a man forced to return to summer school. It turns out, this is just a film about a slacker high school student who fails a class and is forced to secretly take summer school in order to hide this secret from his parents. This scenario is so boringly ordinary that I feel as though it would have been more entertaining to have had a friend in high school go through this than watch some poorly made up character in a painfully dull situation.

Levi Collins (Chris Sheffield) is a decent tennis player, although none of the footage in this film would convince you of that. The only problem is that his school doesn’t have a tennis team and his father is overbearing about his need to play tennis in college, so school is often missed for tennis matches at a private club his family belongs to. His father insists that he miss school for tennis, but apparently he doesn’t take any of the responsibility for the negative outcome this has on Levi’s schooling, so failure because of these games is still hidden.

The logic of this film makes no sense, but even more offensive than that is this comedy’s inability to manufacture humor in any possible way. The characters aren’t particularly humorous and neither is the situation, making this film somewhat dead in the water. Even the addition of comedy legends such as Janeane Garofalo is a waste, because she plays the mother without any humor added to her character. The Blu-ray release of this film is just as unimpressive. There is an audio commentary with the director, producers and the sound editor of all people. There are also outtakes, which are slightly more enjoyable, and a generic making-of featurette.

I honestly couldn’t tell you what was happening throughout a majority of the two hour running time of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, but I could tell that the 3D special effects were the primary focus in both action choreography and even the approach taken to telling the story. Perhaps this is why it seemed so muddled, and occasionally even comical. Watching this film in 2D is almost a waste of time, which speaks volumes to the importance put on the visual spectacle of 3D.

Jet Li is one of many to head up this ensemble cast of actors, though a majority of the action seems to use computer generated images of the actors rather than the actors themselves, creating a comical sense of disbelief within the action, despite the impressiveness of the 3D. Li is a vigilante named general Zhao who has become determined to restore order to the throne by hunting down corrupt officials.

A majority of the action takes place in a remote inn, where Zhao travels to hunt down a corrupt eunuch named Yu. Also hiding at the Dragon Inn is a palace concubine who is pregnant and a swordsman, and all of these groups must face each other when a sandstorm keeps them all within the inn.

Disc one of this 2-disc Blu-ray combo pack includes the high definition presentation of the feature film in 2D, whereas the second disc has a Blu-ray 3D disc. The special features include a making-of featurette, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew.

Violence against women abounds in Bedevilled, the latest painful revenge film from South Korea. Brutality against women must be endured for a large portion of the running time before the victim finally enacts her own unyielding form of vengeance. This is not an easy film to watch, aligning to the tradition of revenge films from the last ten years in Korean cinema. This is a character driven horror/thriller, though not one in which any of the characters are particularly likeable.

Hae-won (Seong-won Ji) is living the city life, despite having grown up on a remote island. After seeing a woman attacked by a group of thugs, Hae-won refuses to testify against them. This cold behavior suggests some unsettling anxiety deeper inside of her, and a series of outbursts at work cause her to take a forced vacation. With childhood friend Kim Bok-nam (Yeong-hie Seo) begging for her to return to her childhood home, Hae-won takes vacation to Moo-doIsland that she will never forget.

Abused by both the men and elderly women alike, Kim’s life is a constant hell on Moo-doIsland, though her friend Hae-won does little to help her in this misfortune. With a daughter to look after and no other possibility of escape, Kim looks to her city friend for a chance to escape this brutal existence. When left with no options and after a tragedy takes away any restraint, Kim takes out her revenge on those who have wronged her and those who stood by and watched her wronged.

The Blu-ray release includes a behind-the-scenes featurette as well as a trailer. The film itself is not spectacularly visual, though the high definition shows a marked improvement from the DVD. This is a slow burning film which is about the human decisions when faced with violence, not an action film or one exploiting elements of gore.